CHAPTERTWO
DANA
Dana Wilson stayed late with her group of talented students because that was her nature. That afternoon she had been teaching a particularly difficult group full of energy and distraction, but she had still managed to teach them most ofOde to Joy.
She was tired, but as always, staying late and being persistent with the kids was rewarding. They all thought of her as the cool, fun, but stern music teacher, someone they could come to with their problems and have them played away sweetly.
Dana knew the power of music herself, and she longed to transfer the love for that gift to them.
On this particular night, Dana was gathering her things into her suitcase, finishing off the lesson around six-thirty in the evening. She was satisfied with the lesson and was looking forward to going out with friends for some drinks. It was something they had suggested to help her relax as if Dana wasn’t accustomed to the concept.
She had felt the pressure seeping into her bones, which gave her a tightly wound disposition. Dana, a lifelong classical musician, had finally summoned the skill and courage to get an audition for the local Philharmonic Orchestra. It had been her dream since she was a child, and the fact that it was within her reach made it feel even more surreal.
The only thing lately that had allowed her to loosen her grip on herself was her time with her students. It took the limelight off her for a few hours and reminded her just why she had fallen in love with music in the first place.
She loved the freedom, the nuance, and the confidence it could instill in any lost soul.
She finished packing her bags away when the principal, Ms. Anderson, opened the door to the music room.
She was a middle-aged woman with long blonde hair and green-gray eyes that looked like spotlights. She was attractive, confident, and virtually incapable of feeling any kind of guilt.
Ms. Anderson looked Dana up and down without a greeting.
“Is that what you’re wearing tonight?”
Dana picked up her suitcase and then stopped short to glance down at her body. She was wearing a crisp white blouse with a cobalt-blue skirt. It hugged her curves beautifully, and the blouse merely offered a whisper of cleavage if one were to glance at the right angle.
“Tonight?” Dana asked.
Ms. Anderson crossed her arms and then pursued her lips at Dana. Dana scoured her mind, knowing that there was something she was surely forgetting.
“The gala tonight at the convention center,” Ms. Anderson said, her lips still thin with disapproval. “It’s mandatory. I thought I told you that?”
Ms. Anderson had a way of speaking that was both friendly and condescending. She had the best intentions for her staff, but her aura often gave off a constant air of authority.
Dana often rebuffed this approach and was able to shake off the small offense.
“Crud,” Dana said aloud.
Ms. Anderson lifted her hands into the air. “You’ve got about an hour. Do you need a driver tonight?”
Dana shook her head. She had been looking forward to seeing her friends tonight and taking it easy with a few drinks in her. She could still have a few drinks at the gala fundraiser event but always had to be on guard as a professional.
Ms. Anderson nodded and then turned to leave the room.
“I know you aren’t nuts about being here,” she said sternly, “but you’ve got to play along for now.”
Dana knew all about playing along. She had done it for years, holding onto that distant star of a dream, its red-hot sting brushing her fingertips.
Dana went to the gala in her most appropriate dark-blue dress. It held all of her wonderful parts in check with a few sneaky glances near the top of her generous bust and a slit up her thigh.
But it was always her eyes … bright blue and as stunning and bright as the moon … that people noticed first, even if it was her body that made them stick around. She had dated someone in her college days who said her body was shaped like a cello, rounded and opulent in all the right places.
Dana didn’t disagree, but compliments were rarely genuine.
They want to have my body, albeit briefly, without really wanting to understand my soul.
She was fine with one-night stands if both parties were capable and willing, but Dana had enough of that, which almost always included subpar sex.